Automatic stoker



June 12, I945. w, M; FULTON 2,377,874-

' AUTOMATIC STOKER Filed Aug. 11, 1938 v 11 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 12, 1945. w FULTON 2,377,874

AUTOMATIC STOKER Filed Aug. 11, 1958 ll Sheets-Sheet 2 June 12, 1945 w. M. FULTON 2,377,874

' AUTOMATIC sToKER Filed Aug. 11, 1938 11 Sheets-Sheet 3 June12, 1945. w, FULTON 2,377,874

AUTOMATIC STOKER Filed Aug. 11,, 1958 ll Sheets-Sheet 4 v June'l2, 1945. w; FULTON 2,377,874

AUTOMATIC STOKER Filed Aug. 11, 1938 11 Sheets-Sheet 5 June 12, 1945. w, FULTON 2,377,874

AUTOMAT IC S TOKER Filed Aug. 11, 1938 ll Sheets-Sheet 6 J-QH June 12, 1945. w. M. FULTON AUTOMATIC STOKER 11 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed Aug, 11, 1938 1: 1 A 1. I v

June 12, 1945. w. M. FULTON AUTOMATIC STOKER Filed Aug. 11, 1958 ll Sheets-Shgst 9 June 12 1945. w; M, FULT N 2,377,874

AUTOMATIC STOKER Filed; Aug. 11. 19:58 11 Sheets-Sheet 1o June 12, 1945. w. M. FULTON AUTOMATIC STOKER Filed Aug; 11, 19 38 11 Sheets-Sheet 11 Patented June 12, 1945 AUTOMATIC STOKER Weston M. Fulton, Knoxville, Tenn., assignor to W. J. Savage Company, 1110., Knoxville, Tenn., a corporation of Tennessee Application August 1 31 Claims.

This invention relates to-an improvement, in stokers for furnaces, and more particularly to stokers of the type known as domestic stokers, which are required to meet conditions quite different from the type known aspower plant stokers.

Domestic stokers are used principally on the heating plants of residences, small apartment houses, etc., where the heating load varies with the weather and is subject to very wide extremes. Noise and dust are very objectionable. Domestic stokers are attended usually either by the house owner or a domestic servant, most of'whom are not familiar with mechanical structures and therefore neglect the mechanical up-keep of the stoker.

n the other hand, power plant stokers operate under more uniform load conditions; are installed in industrial plants with other noisy machinery where noise is not a factor; and are operated under the care of a skilled power plant engineer. Furthermore, power plant stokers usually are installed at the time that the power plant itself is installed, whereas most domestic stokers are installed on heating plants that have been in service for a period of time which therefore complicates the installment of the domestic stoker. This results from the fact that domestic stokers have onlyrecently been available commercially, prior to which time it was the universal practice to depend upon hand firing of furnaces in residences, small apartment houses, etc.

The usual domestic stoker used commercially is of the underfeed screw type where a feed screw extendshorizontally from the bottom of the holder to the underside of a fire bed, in order to convey the fuel thereto, air being supplied to an adjacent air chamber by means cf.a fan. Stokers of this type possess numerous disadvantages,

q some of which may be mentioned as follows:

First, in order to install such a stoker on a heater, it is necessary to remove the gratebars, close the access opening to the ash chamber and build an air chamber underneath and around the tuyere blocks and dead plates and provide connections between this air chamber and-the fan and feed screw housing. This air chamber must .besubstantially air-tight and must be made of a heat resisting material, such as fire briclr laid in fire clay mortar. These materials are expensive and require-expensive'skilled labor. Furthermore, all dampers with attached operating mechanisms must be discarded and replaced with expensive electric controls which is an addedwaste.

1, 1938, Serial No. 224,394

Second, if the stoker becomes inoperative through some such cause as prolonged interruption of electric current or breakage of parts, the owner is without heat because the removal of grate bars, dampers, etc., makes hand firing impossible.

Third, if for any reason, such for example, as greatly reduced demand upon the stoker during a short period of warm weather in the heating season, the fire in the stoker burner becomes extinguished when demand is resumed and the automatic electric controls start the stoker, it will proceed to feed fuel into the combustion chamber until the latter is packed full and sometimes this continues until the fire door is forced open and the fuel thrust Out onto the furnace room floor. This presents a fire hazard and in any event, the house owner must remove all the fuel from the combustion chamber, replace it in the hopper and start a new fire in the tuyres.

Fourth, the feeding mechanism of such prior domestic stokers cannot handle foreign matter, such as pieces of wood, iron, rock, etc., which often becomes accidentally mixed with the fuel. If a lump of material is caught by the conveyor screw at the point where it enters the housing, this lum must be crushed by the screw before it can be carried into the conveyor housing, in View of the very small dimensions of the space between the screw and housing. To make a screw and housing which can crush such foreign matter and to provide sumcient power for this purpose is gnpracticable in domestic stokers, and conseque tly shearing pins, friction devices, or hydraulic drives with pressure limiting devices have been provided heretofore to take care of this emergency. All of such devices are objectionable because they serve merely to render the fuel feeding mechanism temporarily inoperative and 10 thereby interrupt the supply of heat and force the houseowner to take a part or all of the fuel from the hopper in order to remove the obstruction.

Since these safety devices render the feeding mechanism inoperative while permitting the blower to continue its operation, the supply of fuel in the tuyres soonbecomes exhausted by combustion and the fire becomes extinguished,

thereby making it necessary for .the'house ownerquent replacement of tuyres. In using shearto the conveyor screw. Also, the combustioning pins, the house owner must replace the sheared pin with a new one which is objectionable when the owner is not accustomed to it or does not have the proper tools.

Fifth, the only method for removin the ash and clinkers from the combustion chamber is through the fire door of the heater, since the grate bars have been removed and the ash chamber closed and lined; consequently, ashes and clinkers are at a very high temperature when being removed and produce smoke and fumes in the furnace room before they can be removed therefrom, which is objectionable and present an unpleasant task in removing these hot products.

Sixth, du to the wide variations in demand upon the Stoker resulting from variations in weather conditions, the thickness of the fire bed in the combustion chamber varies Widely. When the stoker is idle, it is necessary to admit a small amount of air into the air chamber, otherwise explosive gases may be distilled off the hot fuel and make possible a dangerous explosion in the furnace, when the stoker is restarted by the automatic control. This small amount of draft passing through the tuyres not only carries away the explosive gases, but it also furnishes a limited supply of oxygen which combines with the fuel and slowly consumes the latter, thereby reducing the thickness of the fuel bed. When the stoker remains idle for a considerable period of time, the thickness of the fire bed is reduced gradually. On the other hand, in severely cold weather when the demand on the stoker is great, the thickness of the fire bed becomes excessive often varying from two inches up to fifteen inches or more.

tion is attained, and above and below this thick-' ness, the efliciency decreases appreciably. Attempts have been made to cure this objection in domestic stokers, but these have not been entirely successful. In this invention, it is recognized that the development of efiicient combustion is by establishing the required thickness of fire bed for the conditions under which the heater is to operate, and then to maintain this thickness unchanged.

The primary object of this invention is to improve the construction of a domestic stoker which will overcome the above Objections to stokers provided heretofore and which will be more practical and eflicient in operation. Such a stoker should be readily adaptable to the various conditions encountered in heating plants that have been in use and to which it may be applied and which will overcome objectionable features in such heating plant and render them more efficient in operation.

Where the heating plant has been in service for several years and has been operated by hand which results in underheating in cold weather.

In other instances, the heating contractor has over-estimated the heating load and has selected a heater which is too large, producing overheating with a waste of fuel, especially in mild weather. 7

In carrying out the foregoing objects, the invention may be embodied in different forms, some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings;in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of one form of the invention applied to a domestic steam heating boiler;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the oscillating fuel trough used in connection therewith;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view through the stoker structure and lower portion of the heater, parts being in elevation;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view throughthe gear box of the driving mechanism;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view, of the stoker mechanism and heater, shown in Figs. 1 and 3;

Fi 6 is a partial front elevation of a portion of the boiler with the stoker structure removed therefrom;

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of a portion of the fuel feeding mechanism;

Fig. 8 is a horizontal. sectional view there-.

through;

Fig. 9 is a front elevation thereof, removed from the hopper; I Y

'Fig. 10 is a side elevation of the invention applied to a heater and having an induced chimney draft;

. Fig. 11 is a side elevation of a heater showing a further modification of the stoker structure and the application of a thermostatic control thereto;

Fig. 12 is a vertical sectional viewthrough this modified form, partly in elevation;

Fig. 13 is a top plan view thereof, partly in section;

Fig. 14 is a horizontal sectional view through the motor drive for the gear box;

Fig. 15 is a transverse sectional view therethrough; i

Fig. 16 is a perspective view of the operating parts of the fuel trough automatic adjusting mechanism, detached;

Fig. 17 is a partial horizontal sectional view therethrough on the line |1I'| of Fig; 16;

Fig. 18 is a vertical sectional viewthrough the operating parts of the fuel trough automatic adjusting mechanism, shown in Fig. 16;

'Fig'. 19 is a perspective view of the clutch and switch operating mechanism used in connection therewith;

Fig. 20 is a diagrammatic illustration of the operation of said mechanism;

Fig. 21 is a disassembled perspective view of the parts of the journal box thereof;

Fig. 22 is a front elevation of an over-running device to control the operation of the blower;

Fig. 23 is a side elevation thereof. from one side;

Fig. 24 is a side elevation thereof from the opposite side; and

Fig. 25 is an enlarged side elevation of the draft regulator used in connection with the installation, shown in Fig. 10.

The invention is shown in connection with a furnace, such as a domestic steam heating boiler,

' which is designated generally by the numeral I,

and which has the usual fire chamber 2 therein,

fuel storline of the heater.

age hopper 4, which is preferably secured to the floor of the furnace room by lugs 8 and bolts I, the lugs being securely attached to the base of the hopper .4. As shown in Fig. 5, the hopper is spaced'in front of the heater I, and is also located at one side of the center thereof, this'being shown at the left hand side of the front center However, if there should be an obstruction in the boiler room to prevent the location of the hopper on the left hand side, it could be located as readily on the right hand side. The purpose of locating the hopper at one side of the frontlcenter line of the heater is to maintain free access to the front of the heater, particularly to the flue door 8, the fire door 9 and the ash chamber door ID, as shown in Fig. 1, which may be opened and closed in the usual manner without interference by the stoker mechanism, and all of the usual operations, such as cleaning the boiler fiues, examining the fire in the combustion chamber, and removing ashes from the ash chamben can beperformed without hindrance by the presence of the hopper and other stoker mechanism.

In adapting the heater or furnace to accommodate my improved stokermechanism, the grate 3 is not disturbed and the only adaptation required, in a simple installation is with reference to the fire door. The usual fire door is removed and its frame replaced by a frame shown in Fig. 6, which frame H has two separate openings, one of which accommodates a small fire door |2 which is hinged tothe frame, While a special fuel and air connection I3 is rigidly secured to the frame beside the door I2, as by bolts,

screws, or the like. This connection I3 is provided with a fuel opening I4 therein and with an air opening I5, for the purposes hereinafter described. The other parts of the furnace are not disturbed and function as usual I The hopper 4 has an upright compartment IS in the rear portion thereof, toward the heater in which the elevating conveyor for the fuel is located. A partition I1 extends downwardly atone side of the compartment [6 into the hopper, so as to form an opening between the hopper and the compartment which is somewhat reduced in size and through which the fuel flows by gravity but without flooding the compartment and its conveyor when the hopper is full of fuel, thereby insuring a more uniform feeding of fuel. The top of the hopper 4 may be closed by a hinged cover l8, if desired.

Extending laterally from the upper portion of the compartment I6 is a fuel chute l9, that is directed through the fuel opening M of the fuel in the same direction. Shaft 22 is the drive shaft for the conveyor and carrie spur gear 24, meshing with an idler gear 25, which in turn meshes with a spur gear 26 fixed on shaft 23 to rotate the latter in the same direction and at the same speed of operation as the shaft 22. Both screws and 2| have the same pitch, so that they operate in unison. The blades of screw 20 are of the usual plane construction, while the blades of the screw 2| have a down-turned lip 21 which surrounds the periphery thereof and lies in a plane which extends parallel with the direction of ro- I tation of the screw. The screw 2| is made in sections, each of which constitutes one complete convolution (360); and each section has a sliding keyed or splined connection on the shaft 23,

so' as to be rotated by the shaft, but free to slide I lengthwise thereof. The hubs 28 of the sections contact the blade of the screw 20.

Screw 2| is open on all sides in the compartiment I6, while screw 20 is also open on all sides,

' except that portion which is enclosed by the and air connection l3; The upper end of the fuel chute I9 is, spaced downwardly from the upper I end of the compartment I 6, leaving a space thereabove and above the conveying mechanism, so

that if the .fuel chute l9 should become clogged with fuel, the elevating mechanism will discharge the fuel into this space thereabove and allow it to pass downward beside the same into the lowerportionof the compartment I3, thus avoiding the possibility of damage to any of the working parts. I i

The conveyor mechanism mounted in the compartment It to elevate the fuel therein, is shown more clearly in Figs. 3 and 'lto 9, and corre- -sponds substantially with that set forth in my prior patent 'on' Feeder; No. 2,173,414, granted- September 19, 1939. This consists of twin intermeshingscrews 20 and 2|, mounted on shafts 22 and 23, respectively, whereby they are rotated curved shield 29. Fuel is taken in at the bottom end of screw 20 and is carried around until it contacts lip 21 of screw 2|, where it is completely housed in by the blades of screw 20, the lips 21 of screw 2|, and'the shield 29, and thus is forced to follow screw 20 upward until it reaches the discharge outlet at the upper end of chute l9, where it is discharged in the chute, thence to the heater.

Mounted on the upper end of conveyor compartment I6 is a gear box 3|, having a base 32 rigidly attached to the compartment .|6. The base 32 of the gear box extends forwardly beyond the gear box and has an electric motor 33 mounted thereon. The armature shaft 34 of the motor 33 carries a pulley 35 which is connected through a V belt 36, with a pulley 31. The latter is secured to a shaft 38 of a speed reducing unit 39, of any well-known construction. The reduced speed shaft of the unit 39 extends into the gear box 3| and is connected with shaft 22 of screw conveyor 20, which shaft also carries gear 24 that drives the companion screw 2|, the gearing being enciosed within the gear box 3|, as shown in Fig. 3.

Also mounted onshaft 22 is a bevel pinion 40 which meshes with a bevel pinion 4|, secured on a shaft 42 that extends through a side of the gear ing in athreaded reduced portion 45, and a smooth portion 46, the latter portions being of reduced diameter, while the portion .45 has coarse I screw-threads of relatively large pitch.

A' disc 41' is threaded loosely on the portion 45 and carries-a 'pin' 48, projecting inwardly toward the gear box 3|. loosely around the enlarged portion 44 of the shaft 42 and has one end attached directly to said shaft at 50, while the opposite end of said spring has hook engagement with the pin 48. Spring is soadiusted, as to tend to" rotate the disc A coiled spring 49 is wound to a link 54.

41 in a clockwise direction when looking toward the shaft 42 from the outer end thereof, which tends to hold the disc 41 screwed up on the threaded portion 45, against the enlargement.

The disc 41 has an annular groove 5| in its periphery and one end ofa walking beam 52 is received loosely in this groove 5|, while the other end of the beam 52 is pivotally connected at 53 The beam 52 is pivotally supported at 55 within a bifurcated arm 56, attached to a side of the gear box 3|. Link 54 is pivotally connected with a lever 51 which operates an electric snap switch 58, mounted on a side of the gear box 3|. This snap switch may be of any well-known construction. It controls the supply of electric current to the electric motor 33.

The disc 41 carries a stud 59 screw-threaded .into the outer side thereof, and has pivotally Operating link 66 exscrews 64, the latter passing freely through holes in the member sufficiently large to permit such,

adjustment. The lower end of shaft 62 has a block 65 secured thereto which carrie an oscillating fuel trough 66 (Fig. 2). This trough 66 is made of refractory material, so as to withstand the high temperature of the combustion chamber of the heater; an alloy of iron (50%), nickel (35%) and chromium is suitable for the construction thereof. The upper end. of the trough 66 receives the lower end of the fuel chute l9, as shown in Fig. 3, and is capable of oscillatory movement from side to side by the lever 6|. It may be adjusted to different vertical positions indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3 by means of the adjusting screws 64 causing tilting of the rocking member 63, there being suflicient looseness between the chute l9 and the trough 66 for these relative move'ments.- Chute l9 has a check gate 61 therein capable of swinging rearwardly when fuel is passing downwardly through the chute and then swings to a vertical position after the passage of fuel in order to prevent the possibility of smoke or fumes from the fire or fuel chamber from entering the conveyor housing.

I As shown in Fig. 5, the blower 68 of any wellknown construction is supported by the electric motor 33 with its rotor attached to the armature shaft 34 of the motor and driven thereby. .Lead

ing from the. blower 68 is an air duct 69 which is connected with the orifice I5 of the connection l3 for supplying air to the combustion chamber 2 of the heater to support combustion therein which air is supplied immediately around and beneath the fresh fuel being fed into the heater chimney draft, etc., and then adjust the lower end of the trough 66 to a height above the grates 3, equal to the desired fuel bed thickness. This adjustment is made by adjusting the screws 64 which control the tilting and placement of the fuel trough 66, acting on the rocking support 63. Tilting the trough 66 to its upper dotted line position would necessitate shortening of the operating rod 60 to accommodate therefor, which may be done by adjusting turn-buckle 10, provided therein. To lower the discharge end of the trough 66, the tum-buckle is adjusted to lengthen the operating rod 66. This adjustment may be changed from time to time as changed conditions may require, such as the use of a different kind of fuel.

Fire is now started in the heater in the usual way. If the heater has been operated previously by a natural chimney draft, combustion will proceed in the normal way, since none of the chimney and damper connections are disturbed by the installation of this stoker.

'When the hopper 4 is filled with fuel, it is only necessary to start the electric motor to cause it to drive the elevating conveyor 2| through the speed reducing unit 39 and the shaft 22. This causes fuel to be elevated along the conveyor 20 to the upper end thereof, where it is discharged into fuel chute |9, thence through trough 66, into the combustion chamber 2 where combustion is taking place. In the meantime, the bevel pinion 40 On shaft 22 drives pinion 4| to rotate shaft 42 and disc 41. This imparts reciprocating motion to the operating rod 60, pivoted on the stud 59, which movement oscillates lever 6| on shaft 62, thereby oscillating trough 66 with its discharge end in a plane parallel with the surface of the grate 3. This motion first spreads the fuel evenly over the fire bed, and, second, as soon as the fuel bed builds up to where the discharge end of the trough 66 contacts it, the frictional resistance shaft 42 (Fig. 4) continues to rotate.

thus developed hinders the oscillating movement of the trough and thereby resists the operation of the disc 41, so that it remains stationary, while Due to the screw-threaded connection at 45 between the shaft and disc, the latter is forced outward longi tudinall of the shaft, thereby swinging the walking beam 52 which is received at one end in the groove 5| in an outward direction, thus moving link 54 to swing switch lever 51 to an open position, breaking the electric circuit to the motor 33 and discontinuing the feeding of fuel to the heater. 7

As soon as suflicient fuel is consumed to cause the fire bedto drop slightly below the discharge end of the trough 66, the latter is free again to oscillate. The heavy coiled spring 49 (Fig. 4) acts on pin 48 to rotate the disc 41 to screw it up against the enlargement 44, thereby shifting the switch arm 51 to close the circuit to the electric motor 33 for resuming the feeding operation.

The disc 41 may be provided with several threaded opening 1| into which the stud 59 may 7 be screwed alternately, thereby changing the diswhich will provide fresh air over the top of the fuel bed in the combustion chamber of the heater to burn all the volatile gases being driven off from the green fuel being fed into the heater. As soon as the feeding operation is discontinued,

practically all of the volatile matter which would produce smoke has been driven off, as is usually the case, since only small quantities of fuel are fed into the combustion chamber at any one fumesfrom passing through the -air duct from the combustion chamber.

The invention described above utilizes the natural chimney draft, but where the stoker is applied to a heater where the chimney draft is deficient to such an extent that it requires some additional boosting when fresh fuel is being fed to the heater, in order to take care of the temporarily added combustion requirements an arrangement such as that shown in Fig. 10 may be used. In such an installation, the supplying of air to the combustion chamber by the blower described above may be excessive for the natural" draft of the chimney, with the result that there is danger of smoke and fumes being forced out around and through the doors of the heater into the furnace room which is objectionable.

The construction and operation of the stoker mechanism shown in Fig. 10 is the same-as that shown in Figs. 1 to 5,'except that the air supplied by the blower is, directed through a duct 9| to the exhaust smoke pipe 92, which connects the heater I' to the chimney. Smoke pipe 92 is'pro- 'vided with a short portion having its diameter substantially reduced below that of the rest of' the pipe, and the duct 91 enters this reduced portion and terminates'in a tapering nozzle 94, thereby forming an ejector which produces suction in the smoke hood 95 of the heater I, and thus boosts the draft through the combustion chamber of the heater.

In order to insure that ample air shall be, admitted beneath the grate of the heater to provide free combustion, -a'bellows pressure regulater, such as a Sylphon regulator, is shown at 96 and connected through a tube 91 with the air duct 9|, so that when the blower is supplying air through the air duct 9 I, this increase in pressure will expand'the Sylpho'n pressure regulator I02 cf the heater I.

98. The structure of this is shown more clearly in Fig. 25. The bellows regulator 96 has a plunger 98 attached thereto which will be pushed upward by the expanding of the'bellows, 'and' cause a rocking member 99 to swing lever I upwardly. The free end of lever I00 is connected through a flexible device IOI, with draft damper Hence when the lever I00 is forced upward by the expansion of the bellows 9G; damper I02 will be opened as shown in Fig. 10, thus admitting air beneath the grates of the heater.- As long as the blower continues functioning, furnishing air under pressurethrough thedubt III, the Sylphon regulator 96 continues to hold the draft damper I02 open, and ejector nozzle 94 will produce a suction in the smoke pipe 92, and the smoke hood 95 of the heater.

As soonas the blower of the stoker ceases to supply air, the weight of v the lever I00 and flexible device IOI will cause the Sylphon regulator 96 to contract in length, thereby allowing a downward swinging of lever I00 and 'flexible device IOI, thus closing draft damper I02 and causing a reduced rate of combustion. Although the use of the Sylphon regulatoris preferred, I may utilize any other well-known means for controlling the draft damper I02. This arrangement does not interfere with the usual draft damper controls employed on various heaters, such as are operated frequently by thermostatic means and which may continue to operate independently of this damper control. The pressure regulator 96 only holds the damper I02 in open position while fuel 'is being fed into the heater which feeding operation continues only for very short periods of time, and the added heat produced at these intervals is not suflicient to cause any material change in the temperature of the house. Thus the thermostatic control of the house temperature is not materially affected thereby.

A damper I03 is provided in the air duct SI for adjusting the amount of air admitted therethrough and thereby regulating the amount of suction produced by the ejector nozzle 94. Damper I03 is of the usual well-known construction and is attached to an adjusting lever I04 operating over a segment I05 and provided with a clamping screw I06, which may be tightened for locking the lever I04 inset positions. By moving the lever I04 to different positions on the segment I05, corresponding movements of the damper I03 may be obtained, and when the desired adjustment has been made, the lever I04 is locked in its set position by lockingscrew I06, thereby holding the damper in its adjusted position. This arrangement makes it possible to adjust the suction in the flue pipe to meet various conditions' of chimney draft deficiency.

Figs. 11 to 21,'inclusive, show how this invention is applied to heaters which are too small for the heating load and how I adapt itto thermostatic control which may have been installed in the building prior to the installation of the stoker or installed simultaneously with the stoker or subsequently thereto.

In this form of the invention, the stoker struc-- ture utilizes a fuel holder I I0, provided with a fuel conveyor similar to that described above'in connection with Figs. 1 to 9, driven by an electric motor I I I, through a speed reducer I I2, and gear box unit H3. The fuel is discharged from the conveyor to a chute II4 through a connection II5 of the heater H6. The air duct III is supplied with air from the blower H8, driven by the motor III, all substantially as described .above.

In this form of the invention, the air duct I I1 'is divided into two branches, H9 and I20. The branch I I9 delivers air into the ash chamber I2I,

as shown in Fig. 12, underneath the grate bars for controlling the amount of air passing through these respective ducts. These dampers I25 and I26-arecapable of adjustment and locking in set I matic means are provided in this form of the invention for adjusting theheight of the discharge end of the trough. This will enable the house owner to allow the stoker to operate for long periods of time without visiting the furnace room toshake down the ashes. For example, Fig. 12 shows in full lines the proper position of the trough I21 when the ashes have been shaken down into the ash chamber I2I and all clinkers removed, and the grate I22 thoroughly cleaned which will leave a fire bed of proper thickness between the discharge end of the trough I21 and the grate I22. However, the continued operation of the stoker for several days thereafter would cause the ashes and clinkers to accumulate gradually on the grate I22 until they may attain the thickness between the grate and the discharge end of the chute I21 in its full line position.

If no provision were made for adjusting the height of the 'fuel chute during this period of time, the fire bed would be maintained at the original level and then would consist merely of ashes and clinkers, producing little or no heat. If, however, trough I21 is gradually adjusted to its dotted line position to accommodate for this accumulation of ashes and clinkers, the actual fire bed maintained throughout this interval of time will be of the same thickness as the original fire bed and efficient combustion will be maintained with a consequent added heat supply.

As shown in Fig. 13, the enlarged portion I28 of shaft I29 carries a spur gear, I30 which meshes with a spur gear I3I, journaled at I32 on a side of the gear box II3. A.- stud I33is attached to gear I3I, and capable of adjustment of position relative thereto by being engaged in any selected spaced holes I33 therein, as shown in Fig. 12. Journaled on the stud I33 is a reciprocating rod I34, which extends therefrom to a lever I35, shown in Figs. 13, 16 and 18. The lever I35 is bifurcated at I36 and receives therein a ratchet wheel I31, which ratchet wheel is secured upon a screw shaft I38 to rotate therewith. The lower end of screw shaft I38 is journaled in a projecting portion I39 of the connection II5, as shown in Fig. 12.

The trough I21 is supported by a rod I40 rotatably mounted in a projection I4I on a trunnion I42. Projecting approximately at right angles to projection MI is an arm I43,-which is forked at I 44 (Fig. 16) and embraces a nut I at its extremity. It will be..evident from Fig. 16 that arm I43 projects from trunnion I42, approximately at right angles to projection III in which the trough oscillating rod I40 is journaled. The forked extremity I44 of arm I43 is formed by four prongs. Trunnion nut I45 is mounted so that its trunnions I46 rotate between opposite forks I44. Screw shaft I38 is threaded throu h the nut I45, but the threads thereof terminate in anunthreaded portion I41 of reduced diameter, -so that when the trunnion nut I45 is screwed downward on the shaft I38, it will reach the smooth portion I41 and thus be arrested in its movement before it strikes the castle nut I48. The castle nut .I48 has an enlarged flange I49 seated upon the projection I39 (Fig. 18) and is pinned to the screw shaft I38. The lower end of the screw shaft terminates in a disc I50 with a journal portion I5I between the flange I49 and disc I50 to rotatably support the screw shaft in the projection I39 for free turning movement therein, while holding the screw shaft against longitudinal movement relative thereto.

Fixed on the upper end of screw shaft I38, is

the ratchet wheel I31, while the bifurcated portion I36 of lever I35 is pivoted to said shaft coaxially with the ratchet wheel for free oscillation relative thereto without turning the shaft except through the ratchet wheel. Pivoted within the bifurcated portion I36 is a pawl I52, in position to engage the teeth of the ratchetwheel I31, which pawl I52 is spring-pressed at I53 by a spring carried on the bifurcated portion I36.

The opposite ends of trunnion I42 rotate in journal boxes I 54 (Fig. 21), mounted on top of special fuel connection II5 as shown in Figs. 11 and 13. Each of these journal boxes I54 consists of upper and lower portions, having closed outer ends shown at I55, which prevent longitudinal movement of the trunnion I44 therein.

As the enlarged portion I28 of the shaft I 29 is rotated by the motor III and the speed reducer and gear box Il2-.-II3, this rotates the gears I30 and I3I, imparting reciprocatory motion to the rod I34 to swing lever I35 and pawl I52. The latter turns the ratchet wheel I31 step-by-step in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 16, thereby rotating the screw shaft I 38, so as to carry the trunnion nut I45 downward thereon. This movement turns trunnion I42 and tilts the fuel trough I21, raising the discharge end thereof in the combustion chamber of the heater, as shown in Fig. 12. In this way, the trough I21 will be adjusted upwardly gradually as fuel is being fed into the heater and thereby gradually raising the fuel bed. When the ashes are shaken out, lowering the fire bed, the operator releases the pawl I52 from the ratchet wheel and while holding it in released position with one hand, he turns the ratchet wheel with the other hand in a direction opposite to the arrow in Fig. 16,

thereby raising the arm I 43 until the discharge end of the fuel trough I21 has been lowered tothe desired position. Then the pawl I52 is released and reengages the ratchet wheel I31. The mechanism is then ready for automatic operation during another interval of time without the necessity for attention by the house owner.

The fuel trough I21 is oscillated in the same manner described above in connection with Figs. 1 to 5. The rod I40 carries an oscillating lever I56, which is preferably bent downward intermediate its ends to the axis of the trunnion I42, so that its pivotal connection with the connectin rod I51 merely rotates with the trunnion which avoids the necessity for shortening of the connecting rod during the upward turning of the trough. The connecting rod I51 extends to and is pivoted on a studI58, attached to a disc I53, as explained above. I

The object of introducing air underneath the grate of the heater through the duct H3 and. to the. ejector I23 through the duct I20, is to increase the speed of combustion in the heater enabling it to increase its output and overcome its deficiency due to being too small for the heat-. ing load. a In installations of this character, it

is necessary for combustion to proceed according to the demands of the house being heated and consequently the controlof combustion must be independent of the fuel feed control. Stokers provided heretofore do not accomplish this result, inasmuch as their fuel feed mechanism operates only when forced draft combustion is taking place and this is one of the causes for wide fluctuations in the thickness of the fire bed. On the other hand, this invention feeds fuel independently of the forced draft combustion and thereby maintains a uniformly thick fire bed, regardless of the varying demands made upon the heater.

6 To accomplish this result, the motor III is shown 'in Fig. 13, as driving a belt I66 which passes over a pulley I6I (Fig. l4), journaled loosely on drive shaft I62 of the speed reducing gearing unit II 2. The pulley I6I is mounted on the shaft between a shoulder I63 and a castle nut I64 held in place by a pin I65. The shaft I62 has a tightly fitting key I66 therein, which slidably receives the hub of a sliding clutch I61, the face of which is adapted to be shifted into frictional clutch engagement with the adjacent side face of the pulley I6I. The clutch member I61 has an annular'groove I68 therein, receiving an end of a shifting fork I69, pivoted at I to a side of the speed changer unit H2. The character of the shifting fork I69 is shown more clearly in Fig. 19, from which it will be evident that the forked end of said fork is provided with opposed studs I 1| which engage in the annular groove I68 break the circuit to the motor, the latter is' stopped.

In the meantime, the wheel I59 has been forced outward because of the rise in the fuel lever preventing oscillation of the fuel trough I21 and, the lever I56; whereby the end I80 of lever I8I has been carried outward by the wheel I59, which has drawn rod I18 downward, as viewed in Fig.

13, thereby causing the toggles I14 to force the adjacent end of'the shifting fork I69 upward and the forked end thereof downward, thus disengaging the clutch'IG'I from the pulley I6I and allowing said pulley to run idly on the shaft I62 without driving the fuel feeding mechanism but continuing to drive the blower H8.- When the fuel level drops sufiiciently in the combustionv chamber of the heater to release the fuel trough and allow the lever E56 to move and the rod I51.

thus forcing rod I18 upwardly in Fig. 13, untilthe toggles I14 pass their 'dead center position and suddenly draw the shifting fork -69 downward with the opposite end upwardly, thus forcing the friction clutch I61 into frictional of the clutch I61, while permitting free rotation of the clutch member relative thereto. The

outer end of the shifting fork I69, has rigidly attached thereto a U-shaped member- I12, pref-= erably made of spring steel, so that the arms thereof are yieldable. .Each of these arms is bifurcated at its extremity as shown at I13 to receive an end of toggle levers I14 pivoted thereto, the prongs of said arms being curled back upon themselves to retain the pivots I15 of said toggle levers. These arms I12 have a, tendency to press inward on the pivotedouter ends of the toggle levers I14 .in the direction of the opposed arrows which is. bifurcated for driving the swinging movement of the lever I8I in response tothe axial movements of the disc I59. Near its middle portion, lever I8I is pivotally connected to the adjacent end of rod I18. Electric snap switch I85 is mounted on the side of the speed reducer I I2, and has its switch arm connected with the shifting fork I69 through a link I86. Y

Fig. 11 shows the method of connecting this stoker'mechanism with automatic thermostatic controls and electric thermostat- I90 is mounted on the wall I9I. of the room and is supplied with current in the usual way, being, connected through wires I92 with the electric switch I85 and motor III. If the snap switch I85 isopen, so that no current can pass through said switch to the motor III, and the thermostat I90 is closed, current will be supplied directly through the wires to the electric motor I, thus causing said motor to operate to drive the blower III, which latter will supply air to the ducts II! and I26, and cause rapid combustion to take place in the heater. H6, and thus furnish heat to the house including the room containing the thermostat I90. When the temperature there rises sufllciently to open the electric connection and clutch engagement with pulley I6I, rotating the shaft I62. Simultaneously, the link I86 will be' forced downward, thereby closing switch I85, so as to cause electric currentto pass therethrough, as will be apparent from Fig. 11. Since the thermostat I96 is open the current will pass to the snap switch I85 without going through the thermostat, thence through the electric motor III, energizing the latter to drive the fuel feeding mechanism for bringing the fuel level up to the desired point. When' this point is reached, it will be evident that the wheel I59 will be forced outward on its shaft and act through lever I8I and rod I18, to disengage the clutch I61 and simultaneously open the switch I85 through the link I86. a

The action of the toggles is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 20. When the pivot I16 of the toggles I14 is at the position A, and the pivots I15 are at the points B, then the lever I69 will be in the position C. However, if the pivot I16 be forced in the direction of the arrow 1 until it passes slightly beyond the dead center position, the spring arms I12 by pressing against the toggles I14, in the'directions of the arrows E,

cause the pivots I15 to snap back to thepositions F, thereby bringing the pivot I16 to the positions G, and the shifting fork I69 to the positionH.

is a tendency for the heater to overheat the house in mild weather, even when the forced draft has been shut off by the thermostat. This is due to the fact that forced draft builds up .a veryhot fire in the-heater when the blower is in operation, so that when the latter is cut-off by the thermostat, there is so much latent heat in'theincandescent fuel that the building continues to heat up for a period oftime .after the draft is discontinued.

To relieve this condition, I provide a damper I94 located in the fuel admission compartment I I5, and hinged thereto inposition to control the supply of fresh outside air to said compartment. Damper I94 has an arm I95 attached thereto which is connected through a cable I96 (Fig. 11),

with the core I91 of a solenoid I98 the latter being attached tothe ceiling of the furnace room. A second thermostat I99 is located on the wall I! of the room and is connected through wires 200 with the solenoid I98, current being supplied through the thermostat to the solenoid. Thermostat I99 is set to operate at a slightly higher temperature than'thermostat I90, 'as for instance, one degree higher. Thus, when the temperature of the room operates thermostat I90, to cut-oII the forced draft and stop the operation of the stoker, the thermostat I99 will not be closed until the temperature in the room has increased to its set point when it will close the circuit to energize the solenoid I98, and thereby pull upward on the cable I96 and open the damper I94. This admits cold air to prevent further cooling.

It will be noted that by means of dampers I25 and I26 in air ducts H9 and I20, in Fig. 11, I am enabled to adjust readily the supply of air admitted undereath the fire bed and which is furnished to the ejector I23. The object of this arrangement is to produce sufficient suction in smoke pipe I24 to take care of the extra air drawn in beneath the fuel and thereby prevent the possibility of smoke being blown around out of the doors of the heater into the furnace room. The requirements of different installations will vary. Where the chimney draft is very strong,

damper I26 in duct I may be closed tight, and

damper I25 can be opened wide. In other installations where the chimney draft is quite deficient, damper I25 in duct H9 will be closed tight, whiledamper I26 .in duct I20 will be opened wide. Various installations will require adjustments to different positions between these two extremes. In order to adjust each of these dampers, a thumb screw adjustment 20I is connectedtherewith cooperating with a segment 202, similar to the form of adjustment shown in Fig. 14, and described above. This provides for looking the damper in its desired set position. In order to preclude the possibility of smoke enter- -ing either of the ducts H9 or 120, when the blower is not in operation, swing dampers 203 and 204 are provided in the respective ducts,

as shown in Fig. 11, each swing damper being pivoted for swinging movement 'in response to the draft through. its duct, being opened by forward movement therethrough and closing against back draft. Each of the swing dampers 203 and 204 is made preferably of light weight material, such as thin sheet aluminum, which is forced into open position by the air pressure when the blower is operating, and will drop by gravity to its closed pmition, as shown in Fig. 11, when the blower is not in operation, and the relatively feeble chimney draft is not sufficient to force these dampers operubut they close the duct against back draft and the passage of smoke therethrough.

It will be observed from the above description,

that this stoker is readily adaptable to a wide variety of conditions, and means is provided whereby the fuel-feed operates independently of the thermostatic control of the house temperature, this being a substantial improvement over stokers produced heretofore.

As mentioned above, in installations where the amount of fuel required to be fed at each interval is sufficient to require somewhat prolonged air supply over the fuel bed, an overrun device may be employed to keep the blower operating for a short period of time after the feed mechanism is discontinued automatically. Such an overrun device is shown in Figs. 22 to 24 of the drawings, which may be used for this purpose.

In the mechanism shown in Figs. 22 to 24, the relation of the motor 2I I, the speed reducer 2I2, and the gear box unit 2I3 are similar to the corresponding parts III-II3 of Fig. 11. However, an extra speed reducer 2 I4 is driven from an extra pulley 2I5 on the armature shaft of motor 2I I by means of a V belt 2I6, which drives pulley 2" of speed reducer 2 I4. Speed reducer 2 I2 is driven from a pulley 2I8 on the armature shaft of the motor H I, through a V belt 2I9,.to a pulley 220. The construction and operation of gear box 2I3 and speed reducer 2 I 2, are substantially the same as described above in connection with Figs. 1 to 5.

Mounted on a side of speed reducer 2 I2 are lugs 22I, shown in Figs. 22 and 24, in which lugs is journaled a shaft 222. A flat bar 223 is fixed to shaft 222, intermediate its ends, and said bar has its upper end engaged in an annular slot 224 of a clutch 225, while its lower end engages in a groove 226 of a clutch 221. The outer end of shaft 222 has a lever arm 228 fixed thereto. An operating rod 229 connects the end of lever arm 228 with a toggle actuating 1ever'230, which is pivoted at 23I within a bracket 232, secured to a side of speed reducer 2I2. The lower end of lever 230 is engaged in an annular groove 233 of a disc 234 which is similar in operation and structure to the corresponding discs 41 and I59, described above.

Speed reducer 2I4 has a reduced-speed shaft 235, which has attached thereto, a lever arm 236, to which is pivoted the upperend of a connecting bar 231, the lower end of which bar is pivoted to a lever 238 carrying a pawl 239, which actuatesa ratchet wheel 240 to rotate it in the direction shown by the arrow in Fig. 22, about its pivot 24I. Rotatable with pivot 24I and ratchet wheel 240 secured thereto is a trip arm 242 that turns with said ratchet wheel. Electric snap switch 243 is attached to a side of speed reducer 2I2 and is operated by lever 244 (Fig. 22). A block 245 is attached to the operating rod 229 and carries a pawl 246, pivoted to the block 245, so that when the rod 229 is moved-to the left (Fig. 22), the pawl 246 will engage the lever 244 and close the electrical connection in the switch 243, but, when the rod 229 is moved to the right in Fig. 22, the

' pawl 246 tilts on its pivot on the block 245 and slides beneath the switch lever 244.

The construction of clutches 225 and 221 is substantially the same as shown in connection with Figs. 13, 14 and 15, described above. The construction of lever 238 and ratchet wheel 240 is substantially the same as set forth above in Fig. 16, and described in connection therewith. Operating rod 229 is connected with lever 230 through toggle mechanism designated generally by the numeral 241, which is similar to that set forth in Figs. -19 and 20, and described above.

'- parts of the-mechanism shown in Figs. 22 to 24,

are substantially the same as is true of the corresponding parts in the mechanism described above. The electrical motor 2| I has an electrical connection with the switch 243 and the latter is supplied with electric current from any convenient source. .The blower referred to above, is

intended to be attached to the electric motor 2| but is omitted from Figs. 22 to 24, for convenience of illustration, and to avoid unnecessary repetition.

Lever arm 236 is provided with a series of openings or other adjustable means whereby th bar 231 may be connected with said lever arm at varying distances from the pivot shaft 235, so as to increase or'decrease the distance through which the connecting bar 231 may travel and thus varying the frequency of operation and thereby the speed at which the ratchet wheel 240 is rotated.

The operation of this mechanism will now be described. When the motor 2 is operated, the switch arm 244 will have been turned to its opposite position from that shown in Fig. 22, thus energizing the electric motor 2| This will have caused the fuel feed mechanism to operate suffi- Ciently so as to cause the disc 234 tomove to the tric motor 2| I, energizing the latter and starting the operation.

I have shown and described the use of an air "ejector to produce induced draft in the heater,

because this is peculiarly adaptable to domestic stokers, especially where installed on an old heating system, and results in a saving of cost. However, if desired, any other method of producing an induced draft may be used, such for instance as the well-known exhaust fan.

This invention provides a stoker mechanism which will not interfere with the operation of any automatic control device which may be in us on the heating system at the time the stoker is installed, so this can continue'in use, and will not be affected thereby. If it is desired, at the time this stoker is installed or at any time subsequent thereto, the house owner or heating engineer may install any additional controls without altering right, as shown in Fig. 22, thus tilting lever 230 so that toggle mechanism 241 has pulled operating rod 229 to the right, thereby rotating bar 222, so as to throw clutch 225 into engagement with pulley 2||, while disengaging clutch 221 from pulley 220. This causes pulley 220 to rotate idle, and consequently no coal or fuel is being fed to the heater, but the motor 2 continues to operate and to supply air to the heater, and simultaneously, pulley 2| 1 drives the speed reducer 2 I4, causing lever arm 236 to operate the ratchet wheel 24!! and the trip lever 242 in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 22, until said trip lever makes one complete revolution, whereupon it engages the switch lever 244 and moves it to the position shown in Fig. 22. This breaks the electric cirsuit through the switch 243 to the electric motor 2| I, deenergizing the latter. Thus, it will be noted that after the fuel feed control has ceased to operate, and the clutch 221 is disengaged from the pulley 2 20, the motor continues to operate and to supply air to the heater, until the ratchet wheel 240 and trip lever 242 have made one complete revolution, being driven by the motor 2 through the pulley 2|1 which is thrown into engagement with the clutch 225, at the instant that the pulley 220 is thrown out of engagement with clutch 221. The length of time during which air is thus supplied, after the feeding of fuel stops, can be varied by adjusting the point of connection between connecting bar 231 and the lever arm 236.

When combustion in the heater causes the fuel bed to drop sufficiently to throw the'fuel lever control back into action, disc 234 will be carried to the left, as shown in Fig. 22, thereby tilting lever 230 so as to cause toggle mechanism 241 to thrust operating rod 229 to the left in-Fig. 22, and thereby disengage the clutch 225 from the pulley 2||, and simultaneously brin the clutch 221 into engagement with the pulley 220. At this instant, connecting rod 229 carries block 245 and its pawl 245 to th left, so that said pawl engages the switch arm 244, which is then in the position shown in Fig. 22, and moves it to its opposite position where it is turned at an acute angle to that shown in Fig. 22, which closes the electric circuit through the switch 243 to the elec.

the function of the stoker mechanism.

While this invention is illustrated and described in connection with a steam heating boiler, it will be understood that it may be used in like manner in connection with a hot water heating boiler or hot air furnace, or any other type of heater where solid fuel is desired to generate the heat.

It will be noted also that the installation of this stoker requires no changes in the existing heating plant other than a minor change in the fire door of the heater. It is not necessary to discard and waste the clinker door, the ash chamber door, and the grate of the heater, nor to construct additional expensive air chambers, nor to discard existing controls or expensive electric controls located within the building being heated. Furthermore, at any time that the stoker may become inoperative, through some such unavoidable rent, the heater can be'fired by hand in the usual way without any hindrance whatever, without impairing the heating efliciency. A uniform thickness of fire bed is maintained at all times, so that maximum combustion efllciency is maintained. No shearing pins or other safety devices are required on the feeding mechanism, since it is an open feeder and will handle all materials of sizes within the range of fuel sizes, regardless ofithe nature of the material. Ashes shaken down into the ash chamber in the usual'way can be allowed to cool before being removed, thereby elimina 'ng smoke, fumes and dust produced by handlin this refuse material at high temperatures.

I claim:

1. In an automatic fuel stoking mechanism for a heater, the combination of fuel feeding means,

. a fuel feeding device arranged to receive fuel from said feeding means and constructed fordelivering fuel therefrom to a fuel bed in the heater, said device being disposed in position for contact with feeding device delivers and spreads the fuel bed and automatically controls the quantity of fuel fed to the heater.

2. In an automatic fuel 'stoking mechanism, the ombination of a heater having a combustion chamber adaptedto contain a fuel bed therein, 

